Well exactly. How this point was missed by the OP is baffling.
Xbox 360 Arcade, the best value?
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Well exactly. How this point was missed by the OP is baffling.
It is quite apparent that the majority of people who have posted here feel that rechargeable batteries for the controller out of the box are not a big issue; however, I would like to know, how many of you have purchased a Play & Charge kit or a Quick Charge kit or even use some type of rechargeable batteries for your XBOX 360 controller/s? Also, How many of you Have an XBOX Live Gold account? How many of you who had and XBOX 360 Arcade, and purchased an HDD for it?
Last but not least, does anyone here even have an XBOX 360 Arcade??? If not, why?
Last but not least, does anyone here even have an XBOX 360 Arcade??? If not, why?
I don't like the white disk tray; silver on the PRO/Elite looked much nicer so I sprung for those!
With the amount of fervor you put into adding the little things, you might as well add the cost of electricity and the month's rent/mortgage. :/
yep 2nd system for the kids...
they are not online, no need for wifi, use an existing set of Alkaline rechargeables we had, use the packed in 256 Mb memory card, use an HDMI cable I got from monprice for $8 (you need one of those with any PS3 system you buy too)
sometimes, their friends bring their systems over (or they take it to their house) and they play system link games together on two tvs
they love it
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No play and charge kit. I'm using rechargeable batteries that I bought years ago. However, I normally use the wired controller and wired guitar. It's only when a friend comes over that the wireless equipment gets used.
Just the silver account. Local multiplayer is our preferred method of play. If I need to connect to the internet for updates, I use a network bridge via my laptop.
I use rechargeable batteries that I already owned (have lots laying around, since every recharger comes bundled with 4 AA batteries).
I don't have a Gold account and didn't activate the free month. I'll probably do so eventually, but with 3 kids under age 4, my play time is sporadic.
I went to the store intending to buy the Arcade, but ended up with a rare 20 GB unit (2008 vintage) that was being sold for the same price.
And was it worth it for you?
I think for the folks who love online gaming, the yearly cost is pretty low. For the cost of one latte a month, you get to play games with people worldwide.
For the folks (like me) who don't often play online (I've played online twice since I got my console, spades, and possibly a game of settlers), we can get all the value we need, without the added cost. I do keep my gold account current, but that's because I don't like waiting a week for the demos
The 360 is a very fair console. You pay for what you use. If you don't need wireless, why pay for it. If you don't need online multiplayer, don't pay for it. Compared to the PS3, where you get what you get, and you pay up front, whether you'll use it or not.
I ran cable down to my TV, since I needed to network the HD DVD player, the Tivo, and the XBox, so I've never needed to spring for the wireless adaptor. Of course, if you don't want to pay for the MS adaptor, you can get a wireless bridge (Or wireless gaming adaptor) pretty cheaply (in the $50 range) and it has the advantage of having multiple jacks.
I have 4 wireless controllers, 6 rechargeable batteries, and I keep two batteries always charged in the charger. Whenever a controller starts complaining, I switch out batteries. No need to hook it up to anything. No wires, no mess. No need to throw away the controller when the battery stops working.
My overall point is, to the uninformed buyer, the 360 Arcade appears to be a great buy, a greater buy than anything else for that matter. The fact is, it's not a better buy, it's just cheaper buy. You pay for what you get, and in the case of the 360 Arcade, you don't get much in comparison to the Pro, Elite or the PS3.
The 360 Arcade is made for one purpose, to suck you in.
My original post was just pointing out the fact that the Arcade is not so "Next-Generation" in comparison to the Pro, Elite, and the PS3; furthermore, if you wanted to make the Arcade as "Next-Generation" as the Pro, Elite and the PS3, it would end up costing almost twice as much as the original price.
I myself recently sold my 360 Pro for a PS3. I felt there was no point in having two consoles and the PS3 (even at $400), all said and done, gives the most bang for the buck.
What does being "next generation" have to do with being a different deal (while being what you personally believe is the worst deal)? The option exists for a person to jump in to the next generation with minimal frills and only get the bare essentials. As bkilian already mentioned, you pay for what you want. If it turns out you require a bunch of extras, get the higher priced package - it's simply the better deal. There do exist folk who do not require everything or even care. This has nothing to do with being next-gen. You are actually pointing out the obvious nature of multi-SKU products and the differing values people may have.
I have six controllers with the rechargeable battery packs for all of them and an additional pack for the wireless wheel (I think they are $12 per on Amazon), I use whatever batteries I have around for the GHIII guitar.
I'm not sure how to answer the Arcade question since I have multiple 120GB hdds the last 4 of 5 360's I have purchased have been Arcade units, the one I helped a friend buy was a Pro since he did not already have a 360. I am hard-wired to my 360 and PS3 and wireless-a to my sons 360 (the wireless adapter was free) if my d-link gaming bridge was -a I would be using that and I bought that for the original xbox; do I get to subtract that from your cost scenario?
My sons profile is a whopping 4MB, the 256MB MU has more than enough room for his save games (if he did not already have a 120GB hdd) as XBLA games have grown in size he would have had to make some decisions about which games to keep or delete but he knows how to download/re-download (family settings are activated on his machine with ratings based password, friends only xbox live, friends only vision camera).
The most aggravating aspect of my PS3 (besides the software update process) is lack of IR, but I notice you did not add that to the price of the PS3 and/or the price of a BT remote
I'm not sure how to answer the Arcade question since I have multiple 120GB hdds the last 4 of 5 360's I have purchased have been Arcade units, the one I helped a friend buy was a Pro since he did not already have a 360. I am hard-wired to my 360 and PS3 and wireless-a to my sons 360 (the wireless adapter was free) if my d-link gaming bridge was -a I would be using that and I bought that for the original xbox; do I get to subtract that from your cost scenario?
My sons profile is a whopping 4MB, the 256MB MU has more than enough room for his save games (if he did not already have a 120GB hdd) as XBLA games have grown in size he would have had to make some decisions about which games to keep or delete but he knows how to download/re-download (family settings are activated on his machine with ratings based password, friends only xbox live, friends only vision camera).
The most aggravating aspect of my PS3 (besides the software update process) is lack of IR, but I notice you did not add that to the price of the PS3 and/or the price of a BT remote
I have a Pro. I didn't buy the Arcade originally because the Pro was a better value and since I had a hard drive with my original Xbox, I wouldn't buy a system without it. Now, at the $199, I could see myself buying it as a 2nd system for the kids or suggesting it to my family. I can always take my hard drive and put it on their system if necessary.
I have 4 wireless controllers and 4 rechargeable battery packs. 2 came with the 2 Play and Charge Kits I bought and another came with the Quick Charge Kit. I hardly use the Play & Charge cables anymore(only in emergencies). I would never even consider rechargeable AAs specifically because of the charging method. It so worth using the Quick Charge Kit instead. I'd rather use cheap AAs for those times I forget to charge the packs.
As for Live Gold, I've had a Gold account for about 3 months less than the 1 year/9 months I've had the system. In fact, my account just expired yesterday, but since I just moved and changed jobs I'm going to wait to renew it when I get my first paycheck. I don't play multiplayer alot lately, but I used to play Uno on Live religiously. To me the cost is definitely worth it and I see myself being a Gold member for a long time to come.
Tommy McClain
I have 4 wireless controllers and 4 rechargeable battery packs. 2 came with the 2 Play and Charge Kits I bought and another came with the Quick Charge Kit. I hardly use the Play & Charge cables anymore(only in emergencies). I would never even consider rechargeable AAs specifically because of the charging method. It so worth using the Quick Charge Kit instead. I'd rather use cheap AAs for those times I forget to charge the packs.
As for Live Gold, I've had a Gold account for about 3 months less than the 1 year/9 months I've had the system. In fact, my account just expired yesterday, but since I just moved and changed jobs I'm going to wait to renew it when I get my first paycheck. I don't play multiplayer alot lately, but I used to play Uno on Live religiously. To me the cost is definitely worth it and I see myself being a Gold member for a long time to come.
Tommy McClain
These threads suck.
You guys do know that the ps3 doesn't even come with high def cables and its $200 more than the xbox 360.
wifi - $30
HDD - $30 (thats how much a used 20 gig is going for
Plug and play charge kit ? $15 at amazon
xbox live is only $40 on newegg.com
Actually for a tip for those in the usa. If you sign up for borders rewards (which is free) some borders book stores carry xbox live points and subscriptions. Each week they send coupons to your email, once every other month or so you get a 40% off coupon. They take htem off xbox live subscriptions and points. So you can get a subscription for much less than $40 a year.
I personaly wish that they would just add in a hdmi cable to the box and be done with it. However when you factor in that the arcade is aimed at people who are most likely not going to go on line and not going to use the media center features and what not the arcade is a good value for them. If you are someone who wants to go online and use those features then the pro is a good value or you at $300 . If you must have wifi you can set it up for $30 and if you must have a plug and play kit you can get that for $13 or a third party kit for $20 with 2 batterys(mabyel ess online) Thats still a good value at $343 bucks vs the $450 +ps3 (after all you wnat a bluray remote and high def cables with that right ? ) If you just want to play games the 360 is a great value at every price point except for the elite . Many of its other features make it a worthy competitior to the ps3s secondary features.
You guys do know that the ps3 doesn't even come with high def cables and its $200 more than the xbox 360.
wifi - $30
HDD - $30 (thats how much a used 20 gig is going for
Plug and play charge kit ? $15 at amazon
xbox live is only $40 on newegg.com
Actually for a tip for those in the usa. If you sign up for borders rewards (which is free) some borders book stores carry xbox live points and subscriptions. Each week they send coupons to your email, once every other month or so you get a 40% off coupon. They take htem off xbox live subscriptions and points. So you can get a subscription for much less than $40 a year.
I personaly wish that they would just add in a hdmi cable to the box and be done with it. However when you factor in that the arcade is aimed at people who are most likely not going to go on line and not going to use the media center features and what not the arcade is a good value for them. If you are someone who wants to go online and use those features then the pro is a good value or you at $300 . If you must have wifi you can set it up for $30 and if you must have a plug and play kit you can get that for $13 or a third party kit for $20 with 2 batterys(mabyel ess online) Thats still a good value at $343 bucks vs the $450 +ps3 (after all you wnat a bluray remote and high def cables with that right ? ) If you just want to play games the 360 is a great value at every price point except for the elite . Many of its other features make it a worthy competitior to the ps3s secondary features.
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Remote not required for PS3 Blue Ray play back.
The original post does not include the price for the HDMI cable or any other video cable.
Buying anything used is usually cheaper, so let's not go there.
Yes Amazon is cheaper, but to keep all things equal, lets stick to MSRP.
In most cases, third party add-ons are not up to PAR with the branded stuff.
The original post does not include the price for the HDMI cable or any other video cable.
Buying anything used is usually cheaper, so let's not go there.
Yes Amazon is cheaper, but to keep all things equal, lets stick to MSRP.
In most cases, third party add-ons are not up to PAR with the branded stuff.
Blu-ray playback doesn't require a remote. xbox 360 games don't require wireless. If you want the convenience of Blu-ray playback, then you would want a remote. Just like if you don't want to run ethernet cable, you would want to get a wireless adapter.
In my house, we're wired. So I rather use wire, so to keep the wireless bandwidth for things that really need to be wireless. You don't have to deal with neighbors using their microwaves or cordless phones.
You were ranting on about batteries and yet expect people to disregard their feeling only focus on only the thing you deem important?
And as AlStrong has already pointed out:
You have said:
I myself recently sold my 360 Pro for a PS3. I felt there was no point in having two consoles and the PS3 (even at $400), all said and done, gives the most bang for the buck.
Yes, that's for you. Because you wanted all those features.
However, it's not to say that's what the majority would want. For someone, that never goes online or need wireless $200 Arcade might be the most bang for the buck.
So far for the majority, neither 360 or PS3 are a good deal. That honor goes to the Wii. People voted with their money. (well we'll have to wait to see how the arcade do in the long run).
Just like none of the add-ons for the 360 are required to play games.
Bingo !
I use my own rechargable batteries, since I have a dozen or so around the house, for use in all sorts of things - remote controls, my camera, etc. I even have some rechargable USB batteries that I got from Zazz - the end of the battery is removable and there's a USB plug in the end which charges it. Technology
To the OP: why does it offend you that there is a SKU on the market aimed at the non-hardcore audience? For those that just want a 360 to, say, play games off the shelf, this is more than enough. It's certainly got more than any previous generation machine in the box, including a bunch of games. If it really offends you, stop playing consoles and get a PC, since that's the ultimate in functionality (and library), but carries a price premium.
For me, the more people buying the HD consoles the better. I don't care about demo download rates % user base, I don't care about DLC attach rates, but I care about having a nice big healthy game library. The more HD machines in the hands of gamers, the more money that will go into making new games. That's great for me, and while the Arcade isn't something I'd personally buy (since I have different preferences and wow, I have the choice to buy a different SKU) I can definitely understand its appeal. Can you honestly not see an audience for it? What is the problem you have exactly?
To the OP: why does it offend you that there is a SKU on the market aimed at the non-hardcore audience? For those that just want a 360 to, say, play games off the shelf, this is more than enough. It's certainly got more than any previous generation machine in the box, including a bunch of games. If it really offends you, stop playing consoles and get a PC, since that's the ultimate in functionality (and library), but carries a price premium.
For me, the more people buying the HD consoles the better. I don't care about demo download rates % user base, I don't care about DLC attach rates, but I care about having a nice big healthy game library. The more HD machines in the hands of gamers, the more money that will go into making new games. That's great for me, and while the Arcade isn't something I'd personally buy (since I have different preferences and wow, I have the choice to buy a different SKU) I can definitely understand its appeal. Can you honestly not see an audience for it? What is the problem you have exactly?
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